The wonders of the information age

[telerib]

Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, telling the story before it's over, but I'm overall impressed nonetheless.

When I totalled my car in '01, my parents took me to get a new one. (The insurance and myself paid for it; they assisted in auto selection.) On their way to my place, they stopped at a local Ford dealer and saw a nice 4D for $10K and test-drove it to come get me.

We drove that one, another one, and tried one or two other dealers that day. We ended up going with the 4D Contour, even if the back seat didn't fold down (its one major flaw). Then we got to sit and wait... and wait... and wait while my car insurance and loan got approved.

Stil, I thought buying a car all in one day was pretty good.

Now it's time to get Moe a car, because his job is moving him to a new office that's nowhere near Metro.

A few weeks ago, I subscribed to Consumer Reports. I spent an evening comparing small, fuel-efficient cars and came up with a few reliable models to focus on in my used car searches. Thirty minutes spent at Koons and Carmax gave me an idea of the going rates. (Neither Koons nor Carmax haggles, which I like. And I've had pretty good experiences with Koons, which is where my Contour came from.)

We decided that, hopefully, Tonight Is the Night. So last night, we checked the inventories of Koons and Carmax. Carmax has a 99 Saturn SC2, automatic, and ABS brakes. The brakes were the deal-maker - none of the other cars we were looking at had them. Consumer Reports gave it passing marks. The price was acceptable.

Today, in about 30 minutes all told, I got a quote from my car insurance people and filled out an online car loan application from my credit union. Didn't get instant approval (probably because Moe isn't a member of the CU) but hopefully it will be fast. (crosses fingers)

My hope is that we can walk into the dealership tonight with a pre-approved loan, test-drive the Saturn (please, please still be there tonight), call Geico to turn on the insurance and drive out with a new car in under an hour.

It just tickles me that this time around, we were able to get so much of the work done ahead of time, (hopefully) greatly simplifying the actual purchase process. And the ability to double-check the vehicle with something like Consumer Reports makes me very happy, because I know so little about cars.

The Saturn in question, in case you were curious.

Comments

[curiousangel.livejournal.com]

It's great that you can do this in such short order, but I would recommend some other things.

First off, get the car inspected by a professional. I can recommend a mechanic that I trust if you'd like -- he's in Elkridge, not too far away from you. There are also professionals that will do this for you, including services like running a vehicle history, so you can find out if there have ever been any problems with the car, like an accident or a recall. No reputable dealer will give you any grief about this, and the service isn't that expensive -- about $75, as I recall. Some pros will come out to the dealership with their own testing instruments and evaluate the vehicle for you. The state will also require you to get a vehicle inspection done, but that's a separate thing.

Second, check your price with some of the car valuation services -- edmunds.com is a good one, as is kbb.com (Kelley Blue Book) and nadaguides.com (National Auto Dealers Association, and I like cars.com too. Many of these sites offer search features that will let you look for a specific type of car in a given geographical area.

My final piece of advice is... don't be afraid to look around. You're doing great research, and you've got a good idea about what you want. You're doing splendidly at getting your paperwork handled ahead of time. That said, though, don't sell yourself on a specific vehicle before you get to the lot. You can wind up making a decision that you might regret later. Never be afraid to say, "I'll come back later after I look around a little more".

[telerib.livejournal.com]

Never be afraid to say, "I'll come back later after I look around a little more".

I'm not, really. The issue is more Moe - he's a classic male shopper. He does not like multiple trips, price comparisons, or other things that make him spend more time on a process he does not enjoy. He just wants it over with and can get cranky if forced to spend more time on it than he wants to.

For instance... I took your advice and checked over at kbb.com and followed some of their links. I found the same make of car, two years younger and $10K fewer miles, for the same price at Saturn of Bowie. He might be happy to hear this news... or he might be frustrated to hear that now I want to "drag" him to a different dealership. Or both, most likely - he knows it's a better deal, but wants this all to be simple and easy, which it isn't.

[curiousangel.livejournal.com]

Is that one an automatic or a stick shift? I know that can sometimes be an issue with Saturns.

I'm not a huge fan of comparison shopping myself, but I do like doing my research, and then finding the right thing at the right price. You might ask how that differs from comparison shopping, and I will be forced to handwave -- it has mostly to do with research vs. trudging around to different places. I understand Moe's frustration very very well.

Any luck with inspection services, or do you have a favorite mechanic?

When we bought our car, I found a midrange price for a comparable vehicle, and I flatly refused to pay more for it. I had to get firm with the salesman and with the "sales manager", but it saved me $2,000, so I called it a win. Your ultimate weapon in dealing with a car dealer is the ability to walk out the door if you're not happy.

Good luck with the new car, no matter what, and when are you two going to come visit the baby?

[telerib.livejournal.com]

I called Moe and he is OK with going to Bowie. (whew) They have the CarFax information at the dealership. It's an authorized Saturn dealer rather than Bob's Used Cars, and they say the used cars are already inspected - but it probably is a good idea to have a once-over done. There's a policy where we can get an exchange (but not refund) in 72 hours if there's some problem. I do know a mechanic I liked locally, but he closes shop at 7pm.

Do you know an inspection services that works nights? We're going over tonight around 7pm is the problem.

Yay baby! She can have visitors now? (The only other infant I've had experience with was kinda sequestered for a few weeks or months because of immune system stuff.) We're on family travel this weekend (his), and next weekend (mine), and have plans Sat May 7, and will be moving at the end of the May, so the weekends of the 21st and 28th are probably full. We may need the 14th as a sanity break. (This is why we're car shopping on a weeknight.)

Actually, the evening of Sat May 7 may work out. We're going to an SCA event but won't be staying for the feast, and it's up near you. Or the following afternoon could work (pending Moeish approval). Otherwise, um, June?

[telerib.livejournal.com]

Oh, um, automatic. Also, no-haggle dealership, hurrah. And possibly already passed state inspection (I know the last used car I bought was state-OK'ed; seems like the higher-end dealerships do this as a matter of course).

[curiousangel.livejournal.com]

Do you know an inspection services that works nights? We're going over tonight around 7pm is the problem.

I'd take it to your regular mechanic -- I've heard good things about carchex.com, but I have no idea about their evening availability. That does mean that you might not be able to get the vehicle until Saturday -- would that be a problem? My mechanic doesn't do Saturday inspections, alas.

A Saturn dealership is reputable enough that I might not sweat the inspection, but that's got to be a call based on your own comfort levels. Here is the Maryland Attorney General's webpage on buying a used car -- you've got some rights you might not know about.

Note the difference between "state safety inspection" and "mechanic's inspection" -- the dealership may do more than the bare minimum state safety requirements (headlights and blinkers work, etc.), but you never know.

Baby can have limited visitors, although Rivka and I are both still pretty worn out. Still, if you guys want to come by on the 7th/8th, that would probably be great -- I should run it by Rivka, but I don't expect any problems.